I pinch Brandon’s side and mutter, “Stop hitting on my mom.”
“Jealous?” he whispers, breath ruffling the hair behind my ear. “Haven’t the faintest clue what the hell is happening right now, but you seem to want to sell this. If you’re jealous, look jealous. It’s hot.”
I flush scarlet.
Liza steps in front of Brandon with a grin. “I’mLiza, and this is my fiancé, Cameron. And it’s great to finally meet you!”
Brandon’s arm drops from my waist as Liza pulls Brandon into a marshmallow-pink hug. I step back to give them space as Mom’s eyes squint between the three of us.
“I’m sorry, but just howlonghave you been seeing my daughter?” Mom asks again.
I hold up one finger behind my mom’s back, and Brandon nods with understanding.
“One month,” he says proudly.
I panic, shaking my head, but freeze as Mom whips around to face me.
“A month,Katherine?”
Brandon’s easy laugh draws her attention back. “Sorry, I meant…” His puzzled eyes search mine. “Oneday?”
I clap a hand to my face. Liza snorts.
“One week,” I step in, rejoining Brandon’s side. “We made things official a week ago.”
Brandon returns his arm around my waist and mutters, “Then why hold up one finger and not seven?” He charms our small audience with another laugh. “Eh, how’s time relevant when someonethisincredible is involved?”
Of all the times I envisioned Brandon meeting my family, this impromptu fake boyfriend scenario definitely wasn’t on the roster. Brandon chats with Liza and Cam and continues to bear the scrutiny of Vivian Rochester-Chen with relative ease. I can’t deny I’m impressed.
But the weight of his arm around me, as well as the tiny circles his thumb traces against my ribcage, serve as reminders of what I risk losing if—or rather,when—this whole charade blows up in my face. What scares me more than losing Brandon is keeping him. Especially with the disappointment-ready bomb strapped to my heart that will inevitably break both of ours.
With no other choice at the moment, I paste a smile onto my face, pray to high heaven that Hopefully Yours is watching, and enjoy the feeling of standing inside Brandon’s arms once again.
For now.
thirty
PRESENT DAY
BRANDON
What in the world is going on?
One moment, I was strolling the parade route, nursing my annual regret by eating my body weight in roasted peanuts. The next moment, Kate’s mom is implying that Kate and I are in some sort of romantic relationship, but I can’t quite get a full read on the context of the situation. The fact that Kate didn’t immediately refute the idea spoke volumes, as did the helpless sheen across her dark eyes. It’s like she needed me to play along but couldn’t get the words out.
Vivian Rochester-Chen continues to eye me like a charity case, albeit a charming one. Kate’s dad seems like he’s counting down the seconds until he can get out of here. I can’t decide if he’s the strong and silent type or just dismissive as all hell.
Kate does a little snuggle thing, laying her head on my shoulder, and my bones melt further into a puddle. I’m torn between letting her have her snuggly way with me and the warning alarm blaring from the back of my skull.
Spending the night with Kate in the motel woke me up from what felt like a daydream. A daydream in which I would give anything to win Kate back. While I don’t regret telling her the things I did that night, and although she handled it really well, it forced me down amemory lane I never wanted to revisit.
Since then, I’ve been reliving the fear I felt for my mom. The horror at finding out she could serve time in addition to recovering from her car accident. The ache of needing someone to support mesobadly through it all.
But Kate walked away.
Or rather, she letmewalk away. Easily.
Yeah, I’m glad she now knows why I never showed up to the parade years ago, but the reminder of the long months after—during which she never reached out—are still woefully fresh in my mind.
